1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the installation and/or repair of construction material or membranes, and more specifically, the use of infrared technology to install and/or repair the construction material or membranes.
2. Prior Art
There are several known and established methods of installing thermoplastic roofing, waterproofing and construction membranes either in roll form or in cut pieces commonly practiced in the construction industry today. One method widely used to heat these construction membranes during installation is called “torching” and uses an open flame to heat the back surface and overlapping seams of the thermoplastic rolls or pieces of membrane so that proper bonding or welding is achieved between the overlapping thermoplastic membranes, and between the membrane and decking material.
Heating of the thermoplastic construction membranes is typically carried out by use of hand held propane gas burners or torches. When the flame from these torches, which has a typical temperature of 1,800 to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, is directed towards the bottom surface and overlapping seams of the sheet, compound from the surfaces reach a molten state and bond together to form a strong waterproofing seal. Subsequently, the molten compound from the membranes back flows onto the deck and when cool forms a strong bonded seal.
The use of a cart with multiple propane torches is often referred to as a “dragon wagon”, and can be used to weld and bond thermoplastic construction membranes together in the field. The applicator uses a wheeled carriage supporting a bottom roll mounting system and a series of propane torches for heating the entire width of the roll, as shown in U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0037710 A1, which describes an alternate machine to apply roll products. However, the use of such a cart can also have some safety concerns associated with them if not used properly. These wagons use an open flame that can be left on when the cart is stopped, and detail work, flashing and other construction details still require the use of hand held open flame torches as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,782.
It is obvious that torching can be dangerous considering the risk of fire caused by the utilization of a torch and other similar equipment. Further, bonding or welding can be inconsistent depending on installer experience, flame temperature, heating time, weather conditions or degree of heating. Fire related concerns and other safety issues have led to the recent outlawing/prohibition of open flames in many municipalities, cities and towns. Banning of open flames has affected the installation and repair of modified asphalt/bitumen roofing membranes where its installation is hindered or banned. Alternate heating devices using hot air to weld only the seams of thermoplastic construction membranes have been invented (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,475 B1), but have limited use due to labor and time needed to secure the membrane to the deck and the time it takes to make a weld or bond overlapping sheets together. Such devices may require two to three times the time required to lay a roll of thermoplastic material using hot air.
Similarly, hot mopping, in which drums or cartons of hot asphalt are used, although posing a reduced risk of fire versus torch application, still poses an operational problem. Hot-mopping application, which requires a fair amount of labor, especially in larger projects, also results in waste cartons with chemical residue. Cartons of asphalt weighing up to 50 pounds are split and heated in a kettle. The kettles are usually heated with propane gas and can also be a safety and fire hazard as hot asphalt could splash onto a worker as the asphalt is added to the kettle or the kettle is overheated and the asphalt reaches its' flashpoint and ignites causing a fire. These dirty cartons must be disposed of properly, for example, in landfills, and may become unsafe for the environment. In addition, disposal of the waste materials can become costly and labor-intensive. The hot asphalt is then pumped from the kettle to a mop bucket on the roof using a hose so that it can be applied at temperatures from 400-475 degrees Fahrenheit. Alternatively, hot asphalt is pumped directly from a hot asphalt tanker truck to the roof from the ground also using a hose. The use of a hose can cause other problems and safety concerns in that it is very difficult and dangerous to pump hot asphalt to the roof level, especially in the case of high-rise buildings.
Cold adhesives generally come in buckets or pressurized spray systems. Use of cold adhesive poses its own problems related to disposal of empty buckets or aerosol cans. Additionally, cold adhesives contain solvents that are not desirable from an environmental point of view. For example, they produce volatile organic compounds or VOCs and these emissions can be harmful to the environment and to people. Moreover, there is a potential for the release of airborne pollutants with this system of application.
Several of these construction membrane system compositions are well known. However, these products are based on application methods that pose environmental and operational hazards during the application of the construction membrane. Furthermore, the end result of the above-described in field applications is not successful each and every time. There is, therefore, a need to provide a construction membrane which provides a safer method of installation, reduces labor and installation costs, provides good bonding properties, reduces VOCs and emissions from hot mopped or adhesives that contain solvents for roofing membrane applications.
Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of radio waves. Infrared radiation has wavelengths between about 750 nm and 1 mm, spanning three orders of magnitude. Infrared radiation is popularly known as “heat” or sometimes “heat radiation,” since many people attribute all radiant heating to infrared light. This is a widespread misconception, since light and electromagnetic waves of any frequency will heat surfaces that absorb them. Infrared light from the Sun only accounts for 50% of the heating of the Earth, the rest being caused by visible light that is absorbed then re-radiated at longer wavelengths. Heat is energy in transient form that flows due to temperature difference.
Infrared is used in various applications. The uses of infrared include military, such as: target acquisition, surveillance, homing and tracking and non-military, such as thermal efficiency analysis, remote temperature sensing, short-ranged wireless communication, spectroscopy, night vision, thermography, heating, communications, imaging, climatology, meteorology, astronomy and weather forecasting. However, the use of infrared technology has not been used in applications such as provided for in the present invention.
The present invention provides a new use of infrared technology and permits a safer, economical and more simplified, roof, waterproofing and construction material installation without compromising structural integrity. It also offers a suitable means to dramatically reduce field labor, which eliminates the numerous undesirable aspects of the prior art.